Redskins Locker Room

I've actually met and spoken with De Smith on a few different occasions. Pompous he is not. He's actually a really laid back dude who's very unpretentious and quite conversational.

You are mistaken. He's the sole reason this lockout exists. He's the sole reason a deal hasn't been done yet. He's the sole reason the owners refused to negotiate over the past two years. He's the sole reason the US economy is in the toilet. He's the sole reason 9/11 happened. He's the sole reason Casey Anthony was acquitted. He's the.....ah **** it, I can't even say this shit with a straight face. Amazing how many idiots have been bashing this guy and making him the evil villian in this whole ordeal. He's done exactly what the players paid him to do.

I've seen him speak on TV enough to have a decent opinion of him.
He's a pompous ass AFAIC.
If thats his job then...whatever.

You've seen him speak on TV. I've met him and spoken with him on multiple occassions. Think what you want, but he's not pompous at all. He and his wife were really just good folks both times I chatted with them. He didn't have to pay me any attention, and yet he was very engaging and conversational. Just saying.

You are mistaken. He's the sole reason this lockout exists. He's the sole reason a deal hasn't been done yet. He's the sole reason the owners refused to negotiate over the past two years. He's the sole reason the US economy is in the toilet. He's the sole reason 9/11 happened. He's the sole reason Casey Anthony was acquitted. He's the.....ah **** it, I can't even say this shit with a straight face. Amazing how many idiots have been bashing this guy and making him the evil villian in this whole ordeal. He's done exactly what the players paid him to do.

Gotta disagree here. It takes two sides to forge a deal - - not one.

Neither side is "the sole reason" we do not have a deal yet.

Both sides have used intransignece and public posturing to try to get an upper hand in these negoiations.

Make no mistake; when the deal is finally done, you will be able to look at the final product and ask:

So how come they couldn't have gotten this done 4 months ago?

There will be nothing in the final deal that was "an impossibility" back in May 2011.

Nevertheless, the fault here lies at the feet of folks on BOTH sides of the table...

__________________ The Sports Curmudgeon
www.sportscurmudgeon.com
But don't get me wrong, I love sports...

As ESPNís Chris Mortensen reported earlier today, the players want $320 million in benefits that werenít paid during the uncapped year, as well as a one-year limit on the use of the franchise tag. Also, if the ďlockout insuranceĒ case must be settled separately and apart from the financial package negotiated by the league and the players, itís possible that another nine-figure sum could be demanded. And to the extent that the Brady antitrust lawsuit needs to be resolved via something more than the contents of a new CBA, the players still could demand even more money and/or special treatment for the named plaintiffs, such as an agreement never to use the franchise tag on any of them.

I guess we gotta hope that the players have not played one too many cards and push the owners over the edge. All we need is for the owners to start pulling some of their concessions back which would lead to the deadline being moved back and more talks. It just seems that everytime we hear that both sides are getting closer it seems something else happens to try to throw a monkey wrench into the mix. I'm not sure if it's the players not being happy with how much they are giving up, or the owners not happy with how much they are giving up, or if it's the idiot lawyers pulling strings behind the schenes knowing as long as they can keep both sides apart then their services will be needed longer which means more money in their pockets.

I guess we gotta hope that the players have not played one too many cards and push the owners over the edge. All we need is for the owners to start pulling some of their concessions back which would lead to the deadline being moved back and more talks. It just seems that everytime we hear that both sides are getting closer it seems something else happens to try to throw a monkey wrench into the mix. I'm not sure if it's the players not being happy with how much they are giving up, or the owners not happy with how much they are giving up, or if it's the idiot lawyers pulling strings behind the schenes knowing as long as they can keep both sides apart then their services will be needed longer which means more money in their pockets.

I think at some point (a point which has probably already been reached) both parties need to stop playing tug of war and just be okay with where they are in the agreement. It should be measures of compromise for both the players and owners. It shouldn't be about which side "won."

If the one side's reaction to getting a concession from the other side is to immediately ask for more, we'll go back and forth forever.

I think at some point (a point which has probably already been reached) both parties need to stop playing tug of war and just be okay with where they are in the agreement. It should be measures of compromise for both the players and owners. It shouldn't be about which side "won."

If the one side's reaction to getting a concession from the other side is to immediately ask for more, we'll go back and forth forever.

Thats exactly my point. Be happy that progress is being made and compromise. Why wouldn't all this BS have been brought out on the table at the beginning to be apart of the negotiations? It's like what out of the blue they all of a sudden remembered they want another 300 mill plus for something else? Or were the players waiting to see how much money they could swindle during the negotiations and depending on that depended on whether they asked for the extra 300 mill?

The owners are just as much at fault. I'm just wondering if it's the lawyers giving ideas at this point.

Source: Packers are telling players to be ready to show up on Saturday
Posted by Mike Florio on July 18, 2011, 10:16 PM EDT

Getty ImagesThough the labor deal still isnít done and no one knows for sure when and if it will be, the defending world champions are making it known that players should be ready to show up at the team facility on Saturday for a meeting.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Packers are telling players that the doors will open on Friday, and that the team wants the players in town in order to get started on preparations for training camp and the preseason.

This presumes that the remaining issues between the NFL and the NFLPA* will be resolved in time for the players and the owners to separately approve the new agreement. The fact that the Packers are getting the word out shows how widespread that presumption currently is.

Of course, teams arenít supposed to be talking to players during the lockout. For many teams, however, that ship sailed a long, long time ago.

UPDATE: Jason Wilde of ESPN Milwaukee says via Twitter that the report is ď100 percent true,Ē and that he has confirmed it through two team sources.